Bob Huggins Listed as Potential Candidate for Notable Coaching Vacancy

Ever since his time at WVU ended, Bob Huggins hasn’t been shy about making it known he still wants to coach. Unfortunately for Huggins, that dream hasn’t seemed too realistic.

However, with another coaching opportunity now open, Huggins’ name is starting to be floated out there among candidates. No, not for the West Virginia, but for the new vacancy at McNeese State. National basketball analyst Jeff Goodman of The Field of 68 included Huggins’ name as a potential candidate for McNeese State.

Here's a list of potential candidates for the McNeese State opening, source told @TheFieldOf68:

Bill Armstrong (Baylor), former West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins, James Miller (Okl St.), Matt Woodley (Wake), former Tennessee head coach Donnie Tyndall, Chase Buford (KU) and…

— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) March 24, 2025

Is it possible McNeese State will look to continue the success of their 2024-25 season and NCAA Tournament fame by turning to a coach already enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame? Will Wade left for North Carolina State after leading McNeese State to the school’s first ever NCAA Tournament win. They lost to Purdue in the next round on Saturday before Wade made his exit official.

To be fair to Huggins, Rick Pitino, another legendary controversial coach, was granted a chance to get back in the profession via a mid major job when he took over Iona in 2020. Pitino led Iona to two NCAA Tournament trips in three years and then pivoted that success into his current position with a more established brand in St. John’s.

West Virginia director of athletics Wren Baker was asked directly about Huggins during his press conference to discuss the coaching search on Wednesday.

Also as expected, Baker declined to fully elaborate on any particular candidate. As per his policy, he’s never going to confirm or deny if he would consider anyone for any job. But with that said, Baker did possibly tip his hand a bit.

Baker thanks Huggins for his contributions to the WVU, but he is focused on leading the Mountaineers into the future, not worrying about the past.

Wren Baker Addresses Bob Huggins as Possible Candidate for WVU

While some may speculate if a cooling period and losing a coach after only one year can make Huggins, who has been open about still wanting to coach, a viable option again, it’s reasonable to infer he will not be offered a second tenure at WVU, much the way Rich Rodriguez has with the football program. And a giant difference in the scenarios is Rodriguez’s 2007 exit did not happen under Baker’s watch.

Huggins made a pitch to athletic directors everywhere about why they should consider him for any coaching vacancy in February.

“I’m pretty good at what I do. I’ve been pretty good in every place that I’ve been. Every place that I’ve been people call me all the time, to this day. They call and talk, ‘When you coming back? When are we going to see you?’. I think I’ve done the right things. I’ve been good to people. I’ve been good to where I’ve been and I’ve been really good to our guys. Look at what our guys are doing. Look at the guys we put in the NBA. Look at our guys that are extremely successful in the workplace,” the Basketball Hall of Famer told the Enquirer’s Scott Springer.

Huggins was WVU’s head coach from 2007-23 and guided the Mountaineers to the 2010 Final Four and three Sweet 16 appearances after that. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2022 and is one of only six Division I men’s basketball coaches to surpass 900 wins.

Huggins owns 935 career wins, which is third on the all-time wins list. He led both Cincinnati (1992) and WVU (2010) to an appearance in the Final Four. Huggins was named Big 12 Coach of the Year in 2015 and was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2022.

Find more coverage of Bob Huggins at WV Sports Now.